Clothes-drier



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

- (No Model.)

B.VF. HOLMES, CLOTHES DRIER.

No. 543,020. Patented July 23. 1895.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 B. P. HOLMES.

v CLOTHES DRIER. No. 543,020. Patented July 23, 1895.

FIGfSQ @it 522. A OLU j MM.

fm 1y/Magg UNITED i STATI-3s PATENT OFFICE.

BETTIE F. HOLMEs, or AVONDALE, OHIO.

CLOTHES-omen.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 543,0.20` dated July23, 41835.

Application filed April 17, 1895.

.To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, BETTIE FLEISCHMANN HOLMES, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Avondale, in the county of Hamilton and State ofOhio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in FoldingClothes- Racks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact-description of the invention, reference being had tothe annexed drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention comprises a light frame consisting preferably of sixdistinct coupled sections, which can be folded together in a verycompact condition and stowed away in an ordinary trunk; but When saidsections are opened and properly fastened together they afford acommodious rack capable of'holdin g ,a number of dresses and otherarticles of Wearing-apparel, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the annexed drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of myclothes-rack when completely opened and ready for use. Figs. 2 and 3 areperspective views showing the successive steps of folding togetherone-half of said rack. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the rack whencompletely closed and ready to be packed within a trunk. Figs. 5, 6, and7 representA three dierent modifications of the invention. Fig. 8 is aperspective View of a rack, the base of which is composed of a singleframe and its top united by a rider composed of three separable parts orsections. Fig. 9 is a side elevation showing this form of rack foldedtogether, the three sec-v tions of said rider being seen under saidrack.

The lower section of my rack is composed of two counterpart frames orsills A A B B united at their inner ends by transverse stretchers a band so hinged or coupled together at C C as to be readily opened to theposition seen in Fig. 1, thereby aording an extended horizontal base forthe entire structure. Pivoted to the outer ends of these sills, as at ob', are main upright sections composed of standards D D E E united atbottom by stretchers d e and capable of being maintained in an erectposition by inclined braces F G or otherwise. These braces arepreferablyof metal, are hinged to the sills at f g, and their free endsare notched to engage serial No. 546,166. (no man with pins H thatproject from the standards, as more clearly seen in Fig. 2. Furthermore,these braces are notched at f g to engage with pins a b of the sillswhen the rack is folded together. The object of these main uprightsections is to carry extension-sections capable of increasing the heightof the rack, said extension-sections being composed of side rails I I JJ of practically the same length as the standards D D E E.

i ij 7" are stretchers that unite the upper and lower ends of the rails,so as to preserve them in their proper parallel positions with referenceto each other. of these sections may be obtained in a number ofdifferent Ways, the rails I I (seen in Fig. l) being provided withlongitudinal tongues 1l that traverse similar grooves dof the standardsD D and being held in place by a pin d; but the other section .I J ispivoted to the standards E E at k k and is held in place by a pin K,which may pass completely through said rails and standards and thusserve as a means for suspending towels and other small articles.

Again, in addition to the stretchers 'i fijj, the side rails may beprovided with a number of extra rounds, as seen at L L', thereby-increasing the capacity of the rack without rendering it much heavier.

M isa wire cord or other flexible suspender having hooks mm at itsopposite ends to engage over the stretchers ij.

When my rack is completely Opened and ready for use, the braces F Grpreserve the standards D D E E in a position at right angles to thehorizontal base A A B B', and the pins d K retain theextension-'sections I I', .I J', vertically in line with said standards,while at the same time the cord or line M unite the upper ends of saidsections, thereby aording a very commodious structure, upon whichdresses and other garments can be readily hung.

The line M will hold a number of dresses and skirts, and by usinganother similar line, coupled to the stretchers t" j', the capacity ofthe rack will be nearly doubled, and a still greater range of utilitywill be afforded by the rounds L L of the extensible sections.

To pack up the rack, the hooks m m are first disengaged from thestretchers ij, and

The extensibility IOC 'the upper sections are then lowered. It thesesections are arranged as seen at I I', the pin el is pulled out and saidrails I I are slid down between the standards D D and allowed to restupon the stretcher (l, after which act the brace F is disengaged fromone of said standards D. These standards are then swung down to ahorizontal position, so as to fit snugly between the sills AA, the braceF having first been turned over and supported upon the pin a,; but ifthe extension-sections are arranged as seen at .T J the pin K is lirstpulled ont, the railsJ J turned down exactly parallel with thestandardspE E', as seen in Fig. 2, and the brace G is uncoupled from thestandard E. After this proceeding the standards are swung down toahorizontal position and confined between the sills B B and the bracesupported upon the pin b. This condition of the rack is seen in Fig 3.The next step consists in folding the base-section A A and its'eoupledaccessories iu under the other base-section B B'and itsA connectedadjuncts, which reduces the rack to the compact condition seen in Fig.4, and the line M being now passed around the bundle and tied at m thereis no danger of any of the parts becoming lost. The folded sections nowoccupy but very little space and can be readily packed in the bottom ofany ordinarysized trunk, and after arriving at its destination the rackcan be unfolded and set np by any lady, and without being compelled touse screwdrivers, wrenches, or other unhandy implements. It will thus beseen that my rack is avery great convenience for travelers, as itenables a person to hang garments, tbe., in rooms which are destitute ofwardrobes and clothespresses.

The above describes the preferred form of my rack; but it is evidentthat the details ofthe same may be greatly varied, one modificationbeing seen in Fig. 5, where a rider7 is substitnted for the clothes-lineM. This rider is composed of two sections N N', hinged together at n,and having near its end a groove n', adapted to engage over thestretcher c',- butin Figs. 6 and 8 the rider consists of three sectionsO O O, the central section O being provided with a tubular socket o toreceive the end section O. This central section may also have alongitudinal bore 0 to admit a dowel-pin o, projecting from the otherendsection O, the three-partrider thus produced being capable of conneeting the tops of the extensible sections by means of grooves 0', thatengage over the stretchers ij.

In another modification (seen in Fig. 7) the' standards D D are tubular,and the side pieces I 1 and stretcher 71 ofthe saine are made of asingle piece of wire or light rod, the stretcher being bent in itscenter, as at t", to afford a convenient place for attaching the line Mor rider N. After the extensible section I 1 has been raised to thedesired height it is retained in place bya set-screw I.

Again, Fig. 2 shows that the inclined brace G may be duplicated, as atG.

In another modification of my invention (seen in Figs. S and 9) the baseof the rack is composed of a singleframe A, having the standards D D E Eapplied to its opposite ends, while the three-part rider O O O issupported upon the upper stretchers ij of the extension-sections I 1 J.I and projects horizontally some distance beyond the ends of thestructure. Fig. 8 shows, also, that the extensionsectiou I I may beapplied to the standards D D' in the same way the 0pposite section J Jis applied to the other standard E E. Furthermore, this illustrationshows that the removable pins K may be connected to the standards D E bycords or light chains 7c".

R r represent, respectively, hooks and sta ples wherewith the foldedraclc is securely fastened together.

I claim as my invention- 1. A folding clothes-rack consisting of a base;main sections coupled to the outer ends of said base; devices formaintaining these main sections in place; extensible sections applied tosaid main-sections; devices for maintaining these extensible sections inplace; and a coupling that unites their upper ends, in the mannerdescribed, and for the purpose stated.

2. A folding clothes-rack consisting ofa pair of base sections A A a, BB b, hinged together at their inner ends, as at C, C; mainupright-sections D D CZ, E E c, coupled to the outer ends of said basesections, as at ct', b; braces F, G, that maintain said main sections inplace; extensible-sections I I fw', .I Jjj,applied to said mainsections; pinsfor maintaining said eXtensible-sections in place; and aconnection engaged with the stretehers t' j, of saidextensible-sections, all as herein described and for the purpose stated.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.l

BE'l"`IE F. HOLMES. Witnesses:

JAMES I1. LAYMAN,

R. HOLMES.

ICO

